Week 13th in Tonga: 1.12.-7.12.2014

Week 13 in Tonga; 1.12.-7.12.2014

Monday 1^st of December

I woke up knowing that my children would arrive to Auckland this morning. I did some work waiting for the time to move. They arrived at 9:50 and I could see after that the phones were switched on. I exchange few message with my niece, Nia who was waiting for them at the airport. She informed me when they came out and I called Nia’s phone and talked to all of them.

I stopped by at the office and got the songs from Mona and Leni, was very happy about it. I went to the bank to get a new account in case I still went through that madness and fix my parents’ house in Eua. After that I went to Tau’olunga Komipiuta to get the Tongan notation software from the owner. He was a very nice Dutch man. He gave me the programme for free and I appreciated it very much. I asked when he shall visit home? “I am home”, he said.  

I called NZ and talked to Ipu and Mafua. Mafua was sleeping and Fifi and Tahine were out with Silia and the girls. Mafu said that they went for ice cream. He sounded tired and Ipu thought that he could be home sick…

Tuesday 2^nd of December

I woke up early and went to town. I had few things to be done before the kids arrived. I went to the bank to open an account. I had to go home and get my Tongan driving license. I needed 2 Tongan identity cards in order to open an account at WesPec bank. I had my Finnish passport and driving license with me but they were not qualified. From the market, I went to the market to get some leis for the kids tomorrow. I stopped by at QSC office to get my magazines. Toni and I left home at 12:30, the flight from Auckland arrived after 1:00 pm.

I got in to a closer space in which I could see them coming out of the plane. I had my camera hanging on my neck and the guy with security vest just waved me in. I am not sure whether he did it because I looked harmless or he mistook me for an official photographer… I saw Mafu, Fifi and Tahine came out off the plane. I took some pictures and they saw me straight away and I was so happy to see them.

We waited for a while before they came out. We went straight for sightseeing. We stopped at one of the food sellers and got some fresh coconuts. We went to the Ha’amonga and from there we drove through villages around the sea front. One of the beaches we stopped and the kids went for a swim. They were very surprised to find out how salty the sea water in Tonga. It was sad to see the amount to rubbish dumbed on the beaches. There were plastics, bottles, irons and so on. We used to through rubbish

We got to QSC and soon after Vika and the rest of the gang showed up to welcome Mafua, Fiona and Tahine to Tonga. As in any function in Tonga, food is always part of it. We had another feast. The kids seemed to enjoy the evening. The children often called out “palangi, palangi”… I was so happy to have them after 3 months.

Wednesday 3^rd of December

We woke up, had breakfast and got ready to our trip to Eua. Toni came to take us to the habour. We stopped by at the market and the shops to buy few things for the trip. At the habour, we bought our tickets and waited for the departure at 11:00. It was a bit overcast and it was windy a bit but still not bed. The kids seemed not to worry about the weather. There was a women basketball team from Ma’ufanga going to Eua also and there were laughing, children crying and noises all over the place. At Eua, Neta came to pick us up from the habour. Neta introduced me to some of the travelers who came at the same boat, were relatives.

We drove to Petani and took a short rest and waited to Saia to come with the van. We headed to ‘Ohonua for a swim. Saia drove past the habour then to Ufilei, a lovely dandy beach just past the Faua habour. Mafu, Fiona and Tahine were surprised that the sea water was so salty. In Finland the sea water is so sweet compared to water from some of the wells in Tonga. I also went in for a swim and it felt so good. The water was so warm and you can swim for hours without a touch of the cold. We decided to go to “Hafu” for a swim. Eua has the only surface running water in Tonga and perhaps the best water resource in the whole of Tonga. Hafu is part of the stream and it has a small pool of water with few meters deep. It is in the forest and it is quite cool and refreshing.   

In the evening, Ti Lavemaau and his wife, Anna came to visit and to meet Mafu, Fifi and Tahine. It was really nice to see Ti after he won the parliament election. We talked for a while then they left. He invited Mafua for a kava party, but Mafua was tired and decided to stay put.

We prepared to cerebrate Whitney’s 12^th birthday with a cake her sister, Melekoula sent from Tongatapu. A pastor and two of his sheeps showed up for a chat and Manase asked them to give Whitney a blessing. It was supposed to be non-formal occasion just us sharing the cake but it turned out a semi-formal event with Whitney dressed up. She looked very beautiful. The pastor delivered a sermon and the blessing was a bit long but the cake was good. We sang the Happy Birthday both in English and in Finnish. The evening was great.

Thursday 4^th of December

Today was a sightseeing day. After breakfast, we drove to Houma to see one of the lookout places in Eua. In ‘Ohonua, Manase drove through Eua High School. Eua High had the graduation ceremony in the school hall. It was full and there were people outside also. We beeped in from the back door and Ti was the guest of honour with all the leis and flowers on him. I told Fiona, look at Ti sitting at the front. “Who is Ti”? The parliamentarian who came last night to see you guys…, wave to him”. I said. “Of course not”, she answered. We laughed and I took few pictures then we left.

Through the village of Houma, Manase explained that the church was built when my parents were working there. We drove to end of Eua. The lookout was a small platform in which you could stand and watch the see from a cliff of few hundred meters height. The note on the board said that you could watch the sun rise and moon rise from here. It is 40 km away from the Tongan trench which is the second deepest part of the ocean in the world, second only to the Marian Deep. It is very beautiful to look out from that height into the see but at the same quite scary…

On our way back, I saw a papaya with a ripe papaya. We stopped and I called Tahine to go and fetch the pawpaw while I took pictures. Tahine walked up to the tree then she suddenly stopped, screamed, turned and ran back to the van. The others were laughing… One of the pawpaw was on the ground partly opened, you could see the black seeds and few fruit flies on it… She did not want to go back even after I tried to convince her it was nothing…J.         

Manase droved back in another road. We went through XXX. We got to Petani around noon and the sun was hot. We stopped for lunch and for a short break then we continued in the afternoon. We went to the other end of Eua, to Lakufa’anga which was at the Southern end of Eua. It was the similar lookout as in Houma. There was the "Rock Garden" and Manase has wild horses there on the ground running free. We visited the “Huolanga ‘o Maui” also before we headed to Ha’aluma beach for the kids to swim.  

Friday 5^th of December

Moala

-          Flight to Tonga

-          Oholei

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Saturday 6^th of December

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      We went to the market, tshirts

-          We went to the fair

-          Vika, Ahi and family came around

-          Flight to NZ

Sunday 7^th of December

-          Lotu kids vala fk tonga

-          Eva

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